Torn Hopes and Dreams
by Village Idiot
Summary: (AU) As Mia arrives as a young immigrant to the prosperous city of Tolbi, she is faced by unforeseen hardships, and forced to cope with an unwanted setting. Could love be enough to quell nightmares of an old home and hatred of a new one? Chapter 2
1. Preface

Hello again boys and girls.  It's been a long time, but I'm back, because this challenge was just so irresistible to me that I couldn't help but take a shot at it myself.  If you read the summary and took a glance at the ever so helpful genre list, you'll notice that this is completely abstract from my normal writing.  What can I say?  I got bored.  I know that this chapter is slightly shorter than most of the ones that will come, because it is simply the prologue.  I promise none of the others will be even near this short.  Now, I believe there is a disclaimer that we need to deal with?

Disclaimer:  I do not own the rights to Golden Sun or Golden Sun: The Lost Age.  Those rights are property of Camelot and Nintendo.  Any additional characters that are not property of Camelot or Nintendo are my own work, and may not be used without my permission.  Like anyone would do that.

Golden Sun – Torn Hopes and Dreams

Chapter One – Prologue of Despair

_I hate this place_.  Mia took hold of her new surroundings silently in the midst of the lunacy of the city.  Tolbi disgusted her.  Dressed in a classic white and blue robe of her hometown of Imil, the young immigrant could not bear the sights of the new and terrifying things to observe.  She dimly remembered leaving her hometown, a burning passion for Imil's snowy fields coursing through her body.  Slowly, she remembered the last few days of her stay.  Leaving the Sanctuary. Giving up the life of a cleric.  _Leaving Alex.  _She could not bear the thought of it anymore.  Remembering filled her eyes with tears, just as it had on that last day. . .

_I . . . I have to leave Alex.  _The coarse_ tears rolled bitterly down Mia's cheek as she looked up at the blue haired teenager.  _

_Why? You can't leave me.  Without you here . . .I don't know how I'd live!  Mia!_  Alex's hand reached up and brushed a tear out off of Mia's blushing cheeks, unaware that he himself had begun to cry slowly.  _Maybe I can come with you.  I could find a job in Tolbi.  I may not be able to attend the university like you, but it's a huge city!  There must be somewhere I can go.  Please Mia.  Don't leave._

Mia looked up at him once again, scarcely able to muster the wit to keep going.

_Alex.  No, you can't come._  The tears had stopped, for her eyes had dried themselves to little more than an empty oasis.  _You have to stay.  The town needs at least one cleric.  If we both leave, what will happen?  And you know my father wouldn't have it.  He dislikes you already.  He dislikes anything that takes away his control.  But if you followed us to Tolbi!  He could destroy you.  We may not be wealthy, but you know Father would never allow you to take a job if he could stop it.  He would starve you away. . . _

Mia stopped thinking about the past, unable to continue the horrible memory.  _Alex.  She forced herself to stop all her thoughts about him.  Instead, her gaze slowly shifted to the two young children who stood next to her near the city gate.  A young boy in a ragged shirt, much too thick for the warm weather of Tolbi turned to Mia and gave the girl and impish smile._

"Isn't it great Mia?" asked the young boy, whose name was Justin, in a high pitched voice, a trait of his age.  Mia looked down at him and did her best to produce a smile.  Of course Justin and his twin sister Megan were happy here.  In Imil they were confined to the home through winter, and there were no other children near there ages.  In contrast, Tolbi, allowed the world to be at their disposal, and they had access to innumerable things to occupy their young minds.

Justin and Megan were not Mia's true brother and sister, but rather adopted.  Mia's mother, a compassionate and benevolent woman, had found them shivering and hungry at the sanctum.  Unable to bear their misfortune, she took them under the wing of the family, despite her husband's protests.  But Mia's mother had long since passed away, victim to the cold days of Imil, and an epidemic that had plagued the city, despite the work of the best doctors and healers.  Her father, though usually cold and emotionless, held on to his wife's dying wish – he continued to take care to Justin, Megan, and Mia.  _And his zeal to finish the wish of the one woman he truly loved has brought us to this hellish pit of a city, Mia thought feverishly._

***

In contrast to the young girl from Imil, the boy from Vale glanced at his best friend Garet, and grinned sheepishly.  _Tolbi!  After years of work, I finally get to go to the illustrious University!_  Garet, who seemed to mimic his friend Isaac's thought, turned and shot the grin right back.  The largest city on Angara had opened its doors to the teenage boys.  Girls, glamour, and greatness, all was held within the walls of this metropolis, and it was theirs for the taking.

"Isn't it great Isaac?  Were finally here.  Can you imagine what we can do in this city?!  Vale isn't any bigger than a suburb of this place.  Here were free!"  Garet gave a small hoot of victory.  Isaac just smiled quietly at his exuberant friend.  Garet had grown up in a house surrounded by brothers and sisters, always competing with each other.  This was Garet's first chance for freedom, unlike Isaac, who had lived his life with no one but his mother, after his father left them a year after Isaac's birth.  He quickly quelled the thought of his father just as soon as it reared its head in his mind.  That malevolent man could not ruin today, because today, Isaac had found solace.

***

All over the city, a bustle of activity was beginning.  The university was preparing to open its doors, and the market was preparing for the beginning of the New Year.  Across town, celebrations were being planned, for in just two nights, the New Year would start, and a day later, the town would be flooded with students entering the academy.  The mood seemed to extraordinarily gleeful.  But whenever someone passed a young girl in the street that was clad in the robes of a distant town called Imil, they could not help but feel sad, for the young girl with an unhappy look on her face, and hope that this wounded woman, this fallen angel, would find relief. 


	2. A Face to Remember

*Tears* Wow.  It makes me feel great for you guys to say all that.  But this time, get off your lazy butts and bust out the red pen.  If were doing this, were doing it right, _ja?_

Moving on, the chapters of the story will become much longer from this point on.  The preface was only short, because it was, well, a preface.

Disclaimer:  I do not own the rights to Golden Sun or Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Those rights are property of Camelot and Nintendo. Any additional characters that are not property of Camelot or Nintendo or any other copyrighted materiel are my own work, and may not be used without my permission. Like anyone would do that.

**Torn Hopes and Dreams**

**Chapter Two – A Face to Remember**

Isaac was enthralled to hear of the upcoming New Years party.  Vale, which had never had large celebrations because they had always been struggling to simply support themselves in the small mountain town, would be stunned by this event.  This New Years party was being held for all of the new students at the Tolbi University, and it would start in but two days.  He and Garet had received the small, cheaply printed invitations which were issued to all the students, and immediately prepared to go.  It was truly a first for each of the young boys, and they greeted the event with extensive enthusiasm.  All over the city students were preparing for this occasion, to be held outside of the University on the Grand Lawn, all evening long, and into the next morning.  Isaac marveled at the stories he had heard from the students of earlier years, and anticipation welled inside him as he looked idly at the bed, attempting to decide which of his magnificent yellow scarves he would wear. 

Suddenly he heard a quick and rapid tapping against his door.  He hefted the scarves into a bag, and quickly turned around the deal with the intrusion that had come.  He grasped the door handle, intrigued by who would be visiting him at this time of day.  Garet would be gone all day, looking for enough wax to keep his hair standing up through New Years, and Isaac didn't yet know anyone in the city yet, for he had only been here for three days.  Cautiously, he cracked open the door, and peaked through.

"Come on Isaac, you scared little baby, open the door."  At the sound of the young feminine voice, Isaac swung the door open and quickly grasped the speaker in a hug.  Letting go, he took in the sight before him.  A shorter girl with dark red hair and an impeccable grin stood there, with a bright look in her eyes.

"Jenna!"  Isaac looked at his old friend with an energetic gaze in his eyes.  "What are you doing here?  I haven't seen you in ages!"  The expression was a true one.  Jenna, quick witted youth, as well as a long time crush of Garet's, had been absent from Vale for the last two years, after she left the mountain town to explore the world.  Apparently her ventures had led her far away to Tolbi.  Isaac took another glance, and noticed how much older she looked.  Her eyes portrayed an intelligence that he had never seen before, as if the enlightened look portrayed Jenna as an entire new person.

She smiled again, apparently enjoying the surprise that she had dealt to Isaac.  "Well?  Are you going to sit here all day and not invite me in?  And where's Garet?  I owe the oaf a punch in the stomach. I'm sure he deserves it for something." 

Isaac just smiled, still taken aback by her surprise visit.  In fact, he was so lost in the nostalgia of the moment that he never even noticed as Garet, sly despite his klutzy demeanor and large size, sneak up behind Jenna.  Isaac leapt into the air when the red haired giant enveloped the young girl in a hug from behind, causing her to shriek and nearly knock Garet senseless before realizing what had happened.  Turning, she stared affectionately at him, and then quickly proceeded to punch him in the stomach.

After recovering from the shock, as well as regaining his wind, Garet frowned, and looked at Jenna.  "What did I do?!" he demanded, dazed as to why she had just attacked him.

Jenna just looked at him, and her expression of faked malice quickly switched over to a beaming grin as she embraced Garet in a willing squeeze, and pecked him on the cheek.  "I don't know what you did Garet, but knowing you, you deserved it."  She leapt down from his arms and gave another smirk.  

"I can't believe I found you two here!  It's been so long," she said, sighing lightly.  "Too long.  But it looks like you are going to the New Years party!  This is perfect."  She gave a subtle wink at Garet.  "But now, I have to leave you two.  Work calls, and if I'm late again, who knows what will happen!  See you soon!"  At this she turned around and hurried out the door, pecking Garet on the cheek, and striking him in the stomach again on the way out.  

Once she was out the door, Isaac quickly glanced at Garet, and punching his friend on the shoulder, he muttered, "I can't tell if that girl loves you or hates you."

"Neither can I Isaac.  Neither can I."

***

The choking smell seemed to oppress Mia as she sat outside her apartment building reading a small leather-bound book.  The air seemed to be even more corrosive inside the building, so the young girl had retreated to the foot of the staircase.  Her hardback in hand, she had temporarily found reserve from the dank output of the city.  That is, until a crimson haired girl came bounding down the staircase of the next door high-rise.  Completely unaware of her sudden antagonist, Mia was stunned when she suddenly found herself falling over with Jenna on the ground a few feet away.

Grasping her head lightly, Mia seized her book and stood up.  She quickly looked at the girl who was sitting up and trying to figure out what had just happened.  As Mia watched, Jenna hopped up and looked over at Mia, visibly embarrassed. 

"I'm so sorry!"  Both girls exclaimed in the same instant.  Suddenly they both looked startled at their matching exclamations, and began to laugh.  

"No, that was my fault," Jenna quickly explained, "I don't know what's wrong with me!  I'm wretched, aren't I?  Here let me make it up to you!  How though. . ."  A thoughtful look crossed Jenna's face.  Then her eyes twitched, and she smiled.  "You're going to be a student at the university right?"

"Well, yes, I am."  Mia looked confounded as to what was happening.  _This girl comes out of nowhere,_ she thought, _and I don't even know her name, but she's asking me questions as if she's know me forever!_  Mia quickly became intrigued as to who this person was.

"Great!  Then you'll go to the New Years party correct?  Well, let me make this up to you by finding you your dress!  I work as a part time clothing designer and seamstress!  I can make it for you.  Please let me do that!"

Mia looked stunned.  This was the first kind person she had met in Tolbi, and she had been knocked down, bumped into, and pushed away by many without ever an apology, much less one of this magnitude.  She looked up again and said sweetly, "I . . . I don't know what to say.  I never really intended on going to the celebration.  But you've been so kind to many.  I hope there are more benevolent people out there just like you in this city, because I haven't seen enough of them.  What is your name?"

Jenna was taken aback, before she realized she did not know this girls name either.  She laughed shortly, and smiled at Mia again.  "My name is Jenna.  Maybe you should tell me yours and your dress size as well."

Mia laughed, still recovering from the shock of the situation.  "My name is Mia.  And Jenna. . . Thank you."

***

He stood six feet tall, had thinning gray hair, a beard that was quickly losing its color as well, and he was enraged.  Mia's father stood looking at her as if she had committed the greatest tragedy in family history, and had disgraced their name entirely.  

"I bring you into this town to learn, and not even two days in you want to go to a party?!"  His demands came out, as spittle was flung from his mouth, and his icy blue eyes looked intently at Mia with a menacing gaze.  This had been going on since they had arrived the previous day.  Her father wished to argue over everything, as if her life in this wretched place was for nothing other than studying, although the school had not yet even opened its doors for classes to begin.  And now it had become too much.

Mia studied her father for a moment, although she had no reason to, other than avert her attention and stop herself from falling forward in tears on the spot.    

"Look at you!  You are not cut out for parties Mia!  You are a lady of Imil!"  His tone seemed to shift from anger to pleading, as he spoke to her.

"Yes father!  I am a lady of Imil!  And you took me away from that place!  Now I'm forced to stay here, among this thriving rat hole of a city, because you stole my home from me!  So if I have to make the best of this place, I won't let you ruin that too!"  She quickly turned away and hurried out of the door, with her new dress, a long white kimono laced with blue patterns, hung over her shoulder.

***

Jenna sat at her spinning wheel, quite content with how her day had gone.  After meeting Mia the day before, she had found her the perfect dress, an old design that she had made over three months ago.  _That girl seemed to have a true affinity for the color blue, and the crystal snowflakes seemed to match her perfectly, Jenna thought to herself.  She had begun another, identical kimono, planning to give the old one to Mia, who did not look like she had a fancy outfit to wear at all.  _And tomorrow,_ she thought to herself serenely,_ will go even better._  The only down side to the day seemed to be that no one had answered her request for a room mate.  Forgetting about it, she let her mind wonder, thinking of the tall haired boy with a klutzy demeanor and fiery attitude. It had been many years since she had seen Garet, but her love for him hadn't changed at all.  Over the long time, no one she met could seem to make her as happy, and in the end she always fell back to thinking of him.  __Seeing him again was like waking up from a dream, she merrily thought._

The pounding knock came to her door so suddenly, that Jenna was jolted right out of her dreaming state.  Confused, and slightly annoyed that she had been surprised by the interruption, she hastily made her way to the door and flung it open, and was surprised to see Mia standing in front of her.  

"Mia!  What are you doing here?" Despite her surprise, Jenna was quite excited to see her new friend in the doorway, but upon inspecting Mia's face closely, she noticed that she had not come as a social call.

"It's my father."  Jenna had heard all about Mia's father.  Over their long hours together the day before, Jenna had learned much of Mia's life, causing her to fell as if she had known her for years.

"What happened?"  Jenna could plainly see that tears were building up in Mia's face, and some great travesty had occurred.

"We . . . We had another fight.  He forbade me from going to the party, and I left the house.  Please Jenna . . . I need a place to stay."  Mia felt terrible, Jenna could see.  "I can do anything you want me to.  And I plan on getting a job soon, so I can help pay the rent.  You did say you were looking for a roommate."

Jenna suddenly saw that this was perfect.  Mia may not be able to help her pay right away, but it would keep her off the streets, for she surly wouldn't go back to her father now.  And once she got working, Jenna would have the roommate she wanted, and it wouldn't be some random who-knows-what off the street.  Jenna opened the door, and stepping to the side said "Welcome to your new home Mia."


End file.
